Data Governance Program Lead

Job Summary : The Data Governance Specialist supports the design, development, and execution of the organization’s data governance framework. The role ensures alignment of data practices with business objectives, promotes data as a strategic asset, and collaborates with data owners, stewards, and cross-functional teams to strengthen data quality, compliance, and organizational data maturity.

Key Responsibilities :

Support the development and implementation of data governance frameworks, policies, standards, and procedures.

Collaborate with data stewards, domain owners, and business / tech teams to embed governance principles into BAU and transformation initiatives.

Maintain data definitions, metadata, data lineage, and other governance artifacts in the data catalog (Informatica Axon / EDC / IDQ).

Drive awareness and adoption of data governance practices through training, communication, and stakeholder engagement.

Support data stewardship activities, data quality monitoring, and issue remediation.

Manage smaller data initiatives / projects and coordinate governance forums.

Contribute to regulatory and compliance activities and monitor trends in data management and governance.

Support Informatica IDMC migration and cloud-based data governance initiatives.

Promote sharing and reuse of data assets and ensure alignment with enterprise data strategy and architecture.

Engage with internal stakeholders and external partners (vendors, regulators, consultants) to advance governance maturity.

Requirements :

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Business, or related field;

Master’s or DAMA / related certifications preferred.

Minimum 3 years of direct data governance or data management experience (5+ years overall industry experience).

Experience in financial services or regulatory data initiatives is an advantage.

Strong hands-on experience with Informatica DG tools (Axon, EDC, IDQ, IDMC) and cloud-based data platforms.

Proven track record of delivering data governance / quality programs and strategic data initiatives.

Skills & Knowledge

Strong understanding of data governance and data quality frameworks (DAMA, NDMO, CB UAE, GDPR).

Ability to analyze business requirements and translate them into data governance solutions.

Proficiency in BI / data analysis tools and familiarity with project management methodologies.

Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with ability to influence senior leadership.

Understanding of AI and model governance is an added advantage.